


Girls Like Girls

by Kixsok



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batwoman (Comic), Supergirl (TV 2015), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, LGBTQ Themes, One-Shots, Smut, batcat- Freeform, f/f ships, the future is female, y'all are sleeping on them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-01 15:26:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13297752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kixsok/pseuds/Kixsok
Summary: DC f/f ships appreciation





	1. The Promises We Can Keep (Harley & Ivy)

**Author's Note:**

> Ivy comforts Harley after a nightmare.

Blinding light.

Smoke and dust spraying upward. Like ghosts.

A crumpled patch of green on the dark brown dirt. A jacket. Pamela’s jacket. She could smell the metallic smell of blood.

No! No! Red!

She’s not moving. Why isn’t she moving?

Darkness. So dark when you close your eyes it’s the same as when they are open.

He’s coming. She can feel it. The dread in her bones the coldness that seeps from everywhere and nowhere. She can hear his _laugh._

He is coming. Enemies closing in. Can’t move. Can’t help. 

Red?  
***  
Harley jerked awake, panting heavily. Her lungs burned like she’d just run a marathon, and her heart was still racing along without her. After a moment of blind panic, she realized where she was: in Pamela’s bed. The room was dark, but she could feel a warm weight on the mattress beside her.

She was safe.

Harley could have cried with relief. Some of the tension in her muscles eased, and she leaned back against the pillows, kicking the tangled sheets off her legs. Her skin was overheated, bathed in sweat, and her eyes were blurry with tears of mingled fear and gratitude.

Before she could decide what to do, she felt stirring beside her. “Harley?” Pamela opened her eyes, trying to stifle a sleepy yawn. “What’s going on?”

Harley sniffed her tears back and swallowed, summoning what she hoped would be a soothing voice. It was almost impossible while she was still shivering so badly, but she managed to croak out: “You’re fine.”

Pamela propped herself up on one elbow, brushing some loose hair away from her face. “I know I’m fine. I’m worried about whether you’re fine.”

Harley didn’t answer. She didn’t know how. Slowly, the fog of fear was leaving, and guilt rushed in to fill the void. If she tried to claim she was okay, Pam would see right through the lie. But she didn’t want to get into a whole discussion about it either. Her body was still coming down from its terrified plateau, and she hadn’t stopped trembling.

“Was it the nightmare again?”

Harley winced. “Uh…”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Pamela rolled over, draping an arm across Harley’s midsection. Harley took that as a signal to turn on her side. She rested her forehead against Pam’s chest, letting her tears fall. They were ugly and gasping, but she couldn’t hold them back anymore. All she could do was weep while Pamela stroked her back and pressed kisses to the top of her sweaty head.

Gradually, her sobs got quieter, fading into heavy breaths.

“I’m sorry,” Harley murmured into her hair.

“Don’t be sorry,” Pamela rasped with what voice she had left. “It’s not your fault. I know he haunts you, I know what you went through was tough. I just want to help.”

The statement was meant to be comforting, but it made Harley’s heart sink. _Pamela’s already worked hard enough to fix me over the years And I don’t even know what parts of myself need fixing this time. I thought things were better after I defeated Mr.J, but they’re not. I’m still broken. Just broken in a different way. ._  
“You do help,” Harley said when she realized Pamela was staring. “You help by being here.”

“And I’ll always be here,” she said. She snuggled closer, resting her chin over Harley’s shoulder and kissing the side of her neck. “You know that, right? Even when things get hard.”  
That made Harley smile for a second. She did know that. Pamela always seemed to be waiting, always there for her. She felt guilty sometimes, she knew Pamela deserved better than a broken and weak clown girl. And she felt selfish when she stayed and made her suffer. She loved her so much it felt like all the love couldn’t be kept in her chest. Like she might burst. She wanted to be better for her.

“I do. I just wish they weren’t hard. Maybe it’s stupid, but… we deserve our happy ending, you know? And I thought we had it. But then you got hurt.”

“I knew I wasn’t in danger,” Pamela whispered. “I knew you would have my back.”

Harley licked her dry lips. She had leapt to protect Pamela as quickly as possible, but somehow that didn’t seem good enough, even two months later. Dark thoughts emerged from the back of her mind, wrapping cold tendrils around her: _‘What if you aren’t fast enough next time?’ ‘What if she dies because of you fail to protect her?’_

“There’s always going to be a risk. We’re used to the fast and dangerous live of Gotham. We’ve dealt with dangerous people and lived through so much. But I think things have changed now, we can try to be happy Harl.”

Harley felt the mattress dip. When she looked up, she saw Pamela gazing down at her, hair loose around her face, skin illuminated by the moonlight coming in through the bedroom window. “Someday, I might get hurt or sick. Maybe even killed. And the same goes for you.”

A shudder passed through Harley’s body. She hadn’t expected her to be so direct but she always was, and hearing her fears spoken aloud made her heart throb too fast again. But then Pam reached out, brushing her bangs aside and caressing her sweaty forehead.

“It’s life. It’s how it is. But that piece of you I have? I can’t give it back. Just like you can’t give back the piece of me that’s yours. And even though it’s scary, loving someone that much isn’t about fear. There’s so much more to it, Harl. Deep down, you know that.”

She didn’t reply right away. She breathed deeply like she did when she meditated, trying to absorb Pamela’s words into her very soul. There was a wall of fear there, but maybe her love could slip through the cracks if she listened hard enough. “I do know.”

“That’s my girl.”

Pamela kissed her temple, and Harley felt some of the crushing weight lift from her chest. She was still scared, but it helped to remember that being with her was about more than that. “Thanks. For loving me. I know it’s hard. You really do help, even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes.”

“It does seem like it.” Pamela trailed her fingertips down Harley’s cheek, tracing the cut of her jaw. “And if you want, I’ll help you go back to sleep, too. Whatever it takes.”

There was a subtle offer in her voice, one that Harley picked up on instantly. She knew Pam wouldn’t push, but it lingered there nonetheless, stretching between them until she said, “Would you?”

Pamela smiled at her through the moonlight, her dark green eyes glistening. “Of course.”

Their first kiss was soft and slow. The familiar heat of Pamela’s mouth was a comfort, and Harley couldn’t help but sink into it. Somehow, she always knew how to soothe her with just a whisper, a look, a touch.

Touch. That helped, too. Running her palm down Pam’s side reminded Harley that her dream had been just that—a dream. Pamela was here, alive and well, and at least in this moment, neither of them were in any danger. Her heartbeat kept up its heavy drumming, but the blood coursing through her limbs didn’t feel like cold needles anymore. It was warming up, and the brush of Pam’s tongue against hers spread the same heat throughout her body.

“Pam?”

She opened her eyes and looked at her with such tenderness that she thought the tears she’d stifled might spill free again. For the first time that night, she knew what to say: “Please, don’t stop.”

Gently, Pamela rolled on top of her. Their limbs wove together, and Harley gasped softly as her lips travelled down her neck, not teasing, but seeking out sensitive places. She tilted her chin up, letting Pamela kiss wherever she wanted.

Soon, Harley’s fingers were threaded through Pamela’s hair while she sucked her collarbone. The silk of it running through her fingers made Harley’s hands stop trembling, and the light pressure at her pulse point drew her attention to other places. The tight ball of fear in her chest migrated downward, changing as it sank through the pit of her stomach to settle between her legs. It wasn’t painful anymore, just warm.

Pam noticed and she kissed her smile into Harley’s mouth. “See? There’s so much more to us. There’s this.” She took Harley’s hand in hers, placing it over her heart. Her hands were so soft against her skin, her heart seemed to beat even faster. “And this.” Pamela pressed her knee between Harley’s legs, and both of them exhaled shaky breaths.

Her hand followed shortly after. It moved slowly but steadily down Harley’s stomach, and she knew why—Pam was giving her another chance to back out, to change direction. But she didn’t want to. Part of her needed this. Sometimes, she was so scared of losing Pamela that she forgot what she was afraid of losing in the first place. She took her hand, like Pam had done with hers, and brought it between her legs, showing her lover where to touch.

Pam’s fingers had no trouble finding where they were needed. They stroked up and down, spreading her wetness between her swollen lips with the lightest possible touch. Harley tilted her hips slightly, asking wordlessly for more. The pressure didn’t increase, but she did start dusting kisses down her chest until Harley felt heat surround her nipple.

The new sensation made Harley twitch against Pam’s fingers. She tried to relax, to let herself float between the two sensations, but it was difficult. She wanted to come. She wanted to solidify this moment, as if finishing would guarantee that it wouldn’t be taken away. That’s stupid. Ending a moment means you lose it, not that you get to keep it. But Harley couldn’t think logically. Not while she felt like this and Red was touching her like that.

Pam wasn’t in such a rush. She kept her pressure light and steady, pulling back a bit each time Harley’s hips strained forward. Her tongue painted slow circles around the aching tip of Harley’s breast, and she couldn’t bite back her moans. Pam always had the power to undo her.

By the time her kisses across to her other nipple, Harley was quivering harder than before. Her body was exhausted, but also filled with adrenaline, and she couldn’t find a way to make the two merge. She wanted Pam to go harder, but she already felt so weak. She wanted to come, but she wanted this to last. She loved Pamela, but she was terrified of what might happen if that love was taken away.

 _Who would I even be without her? She got me through those dark places more than anyone else. Without her, I might not have made it. If I lose her._  
Harley realized she was crying again when Pam released her nipple to the cold air and started kissing her wet cheeks. That only made her cry harder, but then Pam’s fingers pushed past her entrance, and she groaned at the fullness. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but she did know it felt good to have her inside. She wanted to keep her there forever.

But Pam didn’t stay. She moved but heir rhythm was gentle, but the spots they hit made a new layer of sweat spread across Harley’s skin making her moan softly. “It’s okay, Harl,” Red cooed beside her ear. “I’m here. I’m with you. And I’m not going anywhere.”

There was no way she could guarantee such a promise, but Harley soaked it in anyway. She needed to hear it, to believe it. She wrapped one of her legs around Pam’s hip, pressing the sole of her foot into her calf, and tilted her head for another kiss. She loved the taste of her mouth, it was sweet and comforting.

While Pam sucked on her tongue, Harley’s abdomen began to clench. She couldn’t last much longer. Pamela knew her body too well. But as she approached the edge, she realized something important. She was ready. Red was with her, and everything was going to be okay. Her body was warm and alive on top of hers, but more important, Pam’s heart was with her. Nothing could change that.

“Love you,” she panted, gazing up into her eyes. All the love she sent with that look was reflected right back at her, and the last of her pain melted away.

“Love you too, Harl. You can let go. For me.”

 _For you._ That was the last thing Harley thought before she came. Her peak started soft, but rapidly swelled into something so powerful her body could hardly contain it. Her muscles rippled as she spilled her release into Pam’s palm, but she was overflowing in more ways than one. Her heart was full up, and there simply wasn’t room to be afraid.

Harley could have spent an eternity this way, with her heart in the palm of Red’s hand. And in some ways, she did. 

Pam’s smile glowed, and Harley felt an answering glow in her chest. She cupped the back of her neck and drew her in for another kiss, one she couldn’t be sure marked the end of this round, or the beginning of the next. 

“Thanks,” she muttered, their foreheads resting against each other. 

“You don’t need to thank me. I’ll always be here for you, Harley, one way or another.”

“You’ve always been so strong. So brave.”

“Don’t say it like that. I know you’re brave too. I’ve seen it.” Pamela ran her fingers through Harley’s blonde locks. “Love takes courage, and you’ve got a lot of love to give. Going what you went through, but still being able to open up to me, to make yourself vulnerable like that… you had your heart broken more times than I can count, but you gave it to me anyway.”

“I didn’t want to give you a broken heart. You deserve a full one, full of love.”

“Yours might be broken Harl, but it’s still full of love.”

Harley suddenly became aware of Pamela’s wetness against her thigh. Apparently, her lover hadn’t been unaffected. “Let me return the favour Red,” she murmured, running her hand down Pamela’s back to squeeze her rear.

Harley slid her hand between them. Love was one promise she knew she could keep.


	2. Always Waiting (Kate & Renee)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate reminisces about her relationship with Renee, while she waits by her bedside hoping she wakes up again.

Four days have passed. Four days on which she experienced four different emotions in a never-ending cycle. Sorrow. Guilt. Despair. Frustration.

_Sorrow._

Not one time did she leave her side. Day after day she would find her way to her room in the hospital and again and again sit for hours at her bedside once more while her hand would hold her hand, not too hard, but just enough to convey that she was with her and would welcome her back whenever she would decide to return. She would wait, just like she did in the past four days. Always.

_Desperation._

Kate has never been a very religious person, but in this moment she wished more than ever that, even with a slim chance, that the universe would let some kind of miracle happen. She had thought about asking Jehovah or Allah or Jesus or someone who could help her. She had been hoping the whole time for something to happen. Something that would take away her anxiety and fear. A sign. Just… something.

_Guilt._

But her desperation was accompanied by guilt that outweighed the other, making the ballast on her shoulders just as big as the pain in her heart. She knew that she wasn’t supposed to be here. She wouldn’t want it. Sometimes Kate would look at the clock on the wall which would tell her that it was already afternoon and that the sun would set soon. Soon another day would pass. Another day she passed by spending her time at the side of her beloved and neglected her duties. However, she didn’t care. The team would manage well without her. She sighed.

_Renee. I wish that you would be here now._

She was lying in front of her. Cables adorned her face and arms, her pulse was weak but constant, chest heaving while the machine showed her pulse rate. The eyes of her lover, however, remained shut, her now peaceful face not indicating anything. Was it wrong? Was it wrong to wish for her to wake up from her peaceful sleep? Was it the right thing to ignore the well-meant advice of her friends and employees and to spend her days by being at the same place? Would Renee want this? Would she want it herself if she was in her place?

_Frustration._

Sighing, she put her head in her hands. She didn’t know. Maybe this was a sign. A sign from… from the universe that was telling her that- that life was too precious to waste it or something along those lines. Was she wasting her life? Was the universe really trying to tell her that? She snorted. This was ridiculous.

Her gaze wandered to the woman lying before her. Kate smiled weakly, yet her eyes were full of love for this woman; the woman who introduced a brand new world to her and turned her life upside down and enriched it with far more colorful colors than ever. The woman who opened her eyes and brought happiness back into her life.  
The woman who had shown her love.

After all, it was this candor, her incredible sincerity and her unlimited and unconditional love that had gotten her to her current state. No. It was her own fault. If she wouldn’t have been busy with her missions and neglected her, it was likely none of them would be here. It was her fault.

Sniffing, she wiped a trace of tears on her cheek away. She didn’t want any of this.

Why did she have to treat Renee so unfairly? She didn’t deserve it. No one had deserved to be treated so unjustly by her. What’s more, the reason for her late actions was absurd anyway. She looked back to their united hands and closed her eyes.

_I’m so sorry, Renee._

They hadn’t talked in a while. Maybe she didn’t even want her here. She didn’t deserve her. What could she possibly have done to deserve this wonderful woman? The least she could do was to admit the truth. Not that she knew if she could hear her or not, but it is said that some people were able to hear what the person by their side was saying, even if they weren’t conscious. Who knew, maybe Renee was able to hear her in this moment? There was only one way to find out.

"I… I should have told you earlier." She looked at her, tears streaming down her face, and hoped that she could hear her. "I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but in case you do … It never was my intention to hurt you. Renee, you mean so much to me. I couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to you or losing you. You deserve better and so much more."

She waited. For how long, she didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. While the clock kept on ticking, Kate’s thoughts were stuck in one moment. A moment that she had intended to push into the farthest corner of her mind, but for some reason she couldn’t; the more she fought back, the closer the memory pressed itself onto the surface of her mind.  
She didn’t want to think she wasn’t going to wake up. She couldn’t. She remembered the last time she saw her.

***  
_She hadn’t noticed she was there._

_She was walking towards her car which was parked a few meters ahead when she suddenly heard her voice from behind._

_"Kate!"_

_But she didn’t turn around. Stubborn as she was, she kept on walking and held her head high, trying her best to ignore the voice of her once girlfriend behind her back._

_Panting, Renee ran after her, her heart beating fast enough to make her feel like it would burst out of her chest any moment, but that didn’t stop her from losing track of her. To her frustration, she didn’t stop and kept her back turned on her. "Kate, wait!"_

_Her eyes narrow now, Kate continued her way, all the while trying to not give into the urge of turning her head in the other direction._

_'Don’t turn around. It’ll only make things worse.'_

_She just wanted to be alone. To be left in peace. It had been a week since it happened. She had failed her mission and caused more damage than she could bear. She needed time to get over it, alone. Despite her annoyance, she knew deep within that Renee just wanted to help, but right now, Kate couldn’t be anything but be annoyed by the woman’s antics.  
'Leave me alone. This way neither of us will have to hurt any more.'_

_"Kate, c’mon!" Renee shouted one last time, but her voice met the air, bouncing off the Kate’s back . Out of breath, she stopped on her knees and looked on how her ex- girlfriend got into her car._

_Renee ran and knocked on her window. "Fuck Kate, please- let’s talk."_

_"We have nothing to talk about anymore. I… I gotta get out of here."_

She remembers the last time they talked on the rooftop of the Gotham Police Department. She told Renee they couldn’t go on, she was in danger because of her. She had gotten her involved in the case and now they were after her too. She knew Renee was strong, the strongest woman she knew. She could defend herself but if something happened to her, she could not forgive herself. And that’s exactly what happened. 

An attempt to kill her as she was living her house. It was targeted towards her, she knew it.

Kate shook her head. This was not the time to think about that. She already blamed herself more than enough for it. She shouldn't remain in the past … and yet…

"That case I was handling was too dangerous. It wasn’t that I didn’t think you could handle it. Of course you could. I wanted to protect you. But it didn’t work. This is all my fault and I don't know if I want to stay away or stay with you forever.”

She gripped her hands tighter.

“My father once told me that love could get you killed. Those words have resonated in my head for years. He was often away from home so the things he told me meant a lot to me. I don’t want my love to get you killed Renee. I wouldn’t be able to handle that.”

***  
_The night was prettier than usual. The skies shone against the black sky, like a reflection of the city lights. From the high skyscraper where the party took place, the buzz of Gotham City felt like it was miles away, down in hell._

_She thought she could live a normal life after what happened, but she was just fooling herself. You can’t ever move on from something like that. Her dad seemed to have forgotten. She wanted him to be happy, she really did. Catherine was nice enough, rich and pretty. It just never felt real to her._

_Now at one of her parties with all the other Gotham socialites it felt even less real. She didn’t know who she was anymore, what she wanted, what her purpose was. So she drank, to forget that her mom and her sister where killed in front of her. And she danced to forget that her father had already remarried. And she kissed all the girls at the party she could find, to forget she was all alone._

_Bruce Wayne stood on the sideline, two girls by his side. He raised a glass of champagne towards her and she did the same. His cousin just reminded her of his mom and made her feel worse. Why was she so pathetic? She couldn’t do anything right. The alcohol was no good, it made her think too much or nothing at all._

_Suddenly the amount of people in the room became suffocating, the height of the building was making her busy, the smell of perfume and alcohol and food made her stomach turn. She wanted to leave._

_She strolled towards the elevator trying to keep her pace steady. She looked at herself in the mirror in the mirror of the elevator, her skin was too pale and her hair too red. She hated it. She had a short but fancy black dress that made her breast pop out more than ever and dark lipstick that made her skin seem almost translucent. She fixed her hair and her dress and left._

_She knew she was drunk. She didn’t have time for a cab, so she just took her new car. It was a nice car. Catherine had given it to her for her birthday._

_She was speeding, she could tell. But she needed the cold air to hit her face; she needed it to blow her hair, to clear her mind. She let out a laugh, the adrenaline flowing through her veins as she skidded though the streets of Gotham. The fun ended minutes later as she heard the sound of police sirens behind her. So thought of going on, to see if they could catch her but she felt dizzy. So she stopped._

_The police car stopped behind her, the lights still glowing blue and red. An officer showed up by her window and knocked. She rolled down her window and looked out._

_“Hey there,” she said noticing how very pretty this officer was._

_“I’m going to need your license m’am.”_

_“Oh sure,” Kate said looking though the drawers until she realized there was nothing in them. She looked back at the pretty cop._

_“You see officer; this is a new car- so I don’t really have anything with me.”_

_“An ID?”_

_“Nope,” she said popping the p and giggling a little at the sound._

_The cop’s brown eyes scanned the car and then her, lingering slightly on her cleavage. Kate giggle again. “Are you drunk m’am?”_

_“Maybe,” she said shrugging._

_“I’m going to ask you to step out of the car.”_

_So she did and looking closer at her badge she said, “Listen officer Montoya my life is a fucking mess. I thought I could fix it but I can’t. This doesn’t justify the speeding or anything but everytime I close my eyes I see my mom and sister dying." She noticed how the officer's body tensed up at her words. "You seem like a nice girl. officer. It’s just I can’t understand why things are this way, why life is how it is. Do you know why?”_

_“No,” she muttered as she checked her._

_“Yeah, me neither. Everything feels fake. Nothing is real anymore. Are you real?” she whispered as she turned around, her face inches away from officer Montoya. Her hands lifted up to caress her cheeks. Her skin was beautiful, rich caramel - a strak contrast to her pale fingers. She liked it. Her lips were full and red and when they looked into each other’s eyes Kate felt like this was real, whatever it was._

_The officer seemed nervous, shocked at whatever had happened between them. “Look Ms.?”_

_“Kane. Kate Kane.”_

_“Look Ms.Kane, I’m going to take you home alright? Let’s forget about this. You need a good night’s sleep.” She grabbed her hands and led her to the police car, her hands felt so warm in hers it almost burned. When she looked at her smile was genuine and soft and it made Kate’s stomach flutter, she wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol or something else._

***  
She gave her Renee’s hand an affectionate squeeze. She had always been too good to her, she had always believed in her. Even when she didn’t believe in herself. A lot of things had happened when she was away and when they broke up. But Kate knew one thing and that was that she loved her.

And she would be here. Waiting. Always waiting.


	3. A Bad Date (Kara & Lena)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena Luthor does not do blind dates. Lena Luthor does not need dates. She does not need a 'relationship' when she's got work and sex and liquor instead.
> 
> Only maybe she's willing to finally try. But the date's a disaster. Lucky there's a hot waitress there to take her mind off of things.

This was a new low. Lena Luthor sat in the restaurant area of the pub, being angry at the napkin for being linen and not paper. She wanted to rip something to shreds right now. It wasn’t fair. She didn’t need people to set her up on blind dates! She didn’t need to hope that someone might be into her. She was in demand!

Only, she hadn’t been lately. She hadn’t felt like going out and getting blackout drunk and waking up with some – admittedly hot – stranger. She was just… tired.

What she needed was a week in the Caribbean spent lying out on the beach and getting suntan lotion spread over her by a hunky cabana boy. She didn’t need a ‘relationship.’ 

Sometimes she hated her friends.

Secretly, she thought her friends hated her. Which explained a lot, in retrospect, about them pushing her to go on a date with this ‘perfect’ guy, who proceeded to stand her up.

Lena Luthor did not get stood up!

She was going to kill her ‘so-called’ friends.

Just then a hand came into her line of vision, a hand holding a tall pint class of richly colored dark beer with a thick foamy head, and condensation forming on the exterior. Lena looked up.

“Thought you might want that,” said the waitress who had shown her to her table.

Lena looked from the beer to the waitress. She glanced down at herself – perfect cocktail dress, understated jewelry, hair done up professionally. She was supposed to be going on a date with some Princeton-educated I-banking rich kid. This was not her normal clubbing get up. It was also not the outfit one paired with dark beer. This was cosmo or go home territory. It was almost like the waitress knew her.

“You did?” Lena drawled, giving the waitress a careful once over. She didn’t look familiar. She was tall. Legs that went all the way down. Generous mouth with a bit of goofiness to it. She looked good enough in the black uniform waitrons had to wear, and had her soft blonde hair up in a knot. And she wore wolf-head stud earrings with little glinting green stones for the eyes. Kind of cute. Lena smiled and took a sip. Perfect, dark, but not too bitter. Was it a Belgian sour? Not a porter or a black-and-tan. “Mmm. What is this?”

The waitress flashed a grin, putting her wide mouth to admirable use. “Something I thought you’d like. We’ve only got a few barrels of the stuff.”

“It’s excellent.” Lena cocked her head and eyed the waitress. “I’d ask why you knew I needed a beer, but I’m pretty sure it was written all over my face. The real question is, how did you know exactly what kind of beer I like?”

The waitress gave a slight shrug. “It’s my job.”

“Calling bullshit.”

The waitress laughed. “Then fine. I’ve seen you around. Mainly at that club around the corner. My mates and I go there when we get off shift sometimes. You stand out. And you complain loudly when people bring you shitty beer.”

“Oh great,” Lena cupped her face to hide it from view, but she couldn’t stop grinning. “Famous all over town.”

The waitress smiled and shook her head. “I just notice things. And… well, you aren’t usually looking to avoid attention. You here for a business meeting?”

Lena considered her for a moment. She wasn’t about to spill all her problems to a complete stranger, but the stranger had given her a beer. She checked her phone, no messages. “Something like that. But he’s fifteen minutes late.”

“Give him ‘till you finish the beer?” the waitress suggested. “I’ll bring some tapas around. You’re here anyway, might as well eat.”

“You’re just looking for a tip,” Lena retorted, narrowing her eyes.

The waitress’ smile went sly. “Maybe.”

Lena sipped her beer and went through her work emails until the girl came around again, this time with a plate of some sort of tortilla de patatas and a dipping sauce. “You allowed to be handing out food like this?” Lena inquired.

“If it’s all in the name of making sure you don’t storm out in a huff after taking up one of our best tables for most of the night,” the waitress sassed back.

““How mercenary,” Lena replied with a grin. “What’s your name?” she asked. “I can’t think of you as the stalker waitress anymore, and the stalker small-business owner takes too long to think.”

The woman laughed. “Kara,” she said.

“Lena,” she stuck out her hand and they shook. Kara’s hand was smooth and long fingered, her nails short and well manicured. That didn’t mean anything, really, but she really had been very nice. Maybe a little too nice for someone without an ulterior motive. 

“So, now that you’ve rumbled me, can I ask what you do?” Kara inquired.

Lena should really cut this off before it formed a head. “I don’t small talk with service personnel,” she said, and took another sip of her beer.

“Fine, fine. I can tell when I’m not wanted.” Kara kept her tone light, but there was a little twinge of hurt in it. Lena didn’t look at her.

She felt guilty. Her date was now twenty minutes late and there was no reason for Lena not to leave. But she didn’t. 

Kara hadn’t come back yet. It had been four whole minutes. Lena scowled at her half empty beer glass. The tapas had been good. She finished her water and shoved it noticeably to the side of her table. She took at her tablet and look at her e-mails without really paying any attention. There was the tinkle of ice cubes in her glass. She looked up. Kara was looking down at her. She had blue eyes, soft ones. Lena swallowed.

“You thinking about ordering something? I mean it does seem like your job is important,” Kara asked, not quite entirely ‘back to business.’

“I’m a CEO ,” Lena blurted.

A warm, easy smile spread across Kara’s face. “Are you now? A successful one?”

Lena glared and flicked to the default screen of her phone. “ Very.”

“Isn’t that what they all say-“

Lena laughed softly.

“Um, hi. Are you Lena?”

The intruding male voice made both Lena and Kara jump. A young man with sandy hair and a face heading towards classically handsome was standing there in a perfectly tailored suit, holding a rose.

Lena, unexpectedly, felt her stomach sink. She heard what sounded like a very quiet under-the-breath ‘shit’ come from Kara’s direction. Then, “I’ll give you a minute or so to get settled, all right,” in the perfect waitress voice, and she was gone.

“Yeah, I’m Lena,” she said.

The man smiled. “I’m Steven.” He handed her the rose, and slid into the chair opposite. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long.” He looked at the empty tapas plate and the half-finished pint of beer and frowned. “It was seven-thirty, right?”

Lena blinked and leather fingers slide surreptitiously down her email. Seven-thirty. Yep. She’d been a half an hour early. “Yes, of course,” she forced a smile. “I just thought I’d have a drink and get some work done beforehand.” She slipped her phone into her purse.

“Work? What do you do?” Steven asked.

“I’m a CEO,” Lena said, a little slower than she might otherwise have, if she hadn’t just had this conversation a moment ago.

“Really? What company?”

“L- Corp.”

“Seriously?” he asked rather incredulous.

Lena frowned slightly. 

“Can I interest you in anything to drink?”Kara was back and the relief was almost palpable. Lena turned to smile at her, but she was just looking at Steven.

“What’s your wine list like? I thought we could order a bottle.” He offered Lena a smile.

Lena gave him a weak grin. “Um, this is a ub. I thought I’d stick with beer.” She looked at Kara. “This one’s lovely. If you have anything else this kind of special, I trust your judgment.”

Kara met her eyes and smiled back, it felt warm and electric, like she was really being seen.

“All right, beer,” said Steven, sounding a little put off, as if he had planned the evening out and it wasn’t quite working. “You have an IPA on tap?”

“Of course,” Kara said. She collected the empty tapas plate. “I’ll be right back.” 

Lena caught her eye for just a moment, but wasn’t sure why she had. Kara gave her a little nod, as if she got it, even though Lena had no idea what it had been supposed to mean.

“Good with wait staff,” Steven said with an idiotic grin. “That’s a plus.”

I wasn’t aware this was a job interview, Lena wanted to spit back at him, but restrained herself. “So, um, you’re an intern?”

“Yep, at Wayne Enterpraises. Been out of school three years and already made my first million.”

“That’s great.”

“I’m planning on moving to the Hamptons when I’m settled. Getting a yacht.”

“I guess being an intern in Wayne Enterprises pays well. You like sailing?”

Steven looked suddenly worried. “Actually, I get kind of seasick.”

Lena tried not to roll her eyes until she saw Kara making her way to them. Lena gave him a glance and then looked back at Kara. “What’d you bring me this time?”

“It’s an Irish Red. Ruad Fael. It’s one of our more experimental ones, so I’d love to hear what you think.”

Lena took a sip. She closed her eyes. “Oh man. You’ve got this one.”

Kara grinned at her. “You guys ready to order?”

“You have fancy burgers,” Lena said. She’d spent a good part of the first ten minutes staring blankly and annoyed at the menu. She could probably recite it by heart. “But are they any good?”

Kara cocked her head. “To tell you the truth I take my burgers very seriously.”

“Give me your best one.”

“On it.”

Steven looked anxious. “I didn’t really get a chance…”

Kara leaned over his shoulder. “It’s mainly fancy pub food, so we’ve got mini pizzas, burgers, salads. The barbecue chicken pizza is really good.”

“How about the strip steak?”

“No problem.”

Lena sighed. Kara left their table. Maybe she wouldn’t have been so attractive if Steven hadn’t been such a dud. But watching her walk away was totally worth it. She glanced back over and saw Steven also watching. Well, that was the first thing they had in common.

“Do you… know her?” Steven asked.

Lena shrugged. “We had a nice chat before you got here.”

“Oh.” He smiled. “One of the cooks at my eating club was a great guy. His name was Manuel, and he always got me the best, um, weed.”

Lena raised an eyebrow. Was he trying to compete in the ‘nice to service personnel’ stakes. Because Lena didn’t care and she was still coming out ahead. “Pothead back in college, eh? And you went to Princeton.”

Steven flushed. “I was a Philosophy major. I needed to be calm.”

She actually laughed at that. “I’m sure.”

This was going beautifully. And it wasn’t like he was awful. She wasn’t going to criticize someone in the first minutes of meeting them, but she’d talked to Kara for less than a minute and she already seemed more interesting than Steven. 

She should give him a chance.

“So, what do you do for fun?” she asked.

Steven seemed to light up. “I’ve just gotten really into hunting!” he said.

Lena stared at him. This brat?

“My buddies and I, we go up to the cabin and head out into the great outdoors. I have a rifle. It was really expensive.”

“Have you ever shot anything?” Lena asked. 

“Well,” he looked awkward. “No. I’m not that great of a shot. And anyway, it’s mainly about drinking beer and hanging with the guys.”

That was no surprise. Lena sighed and tried to think of another topic of conversation. She let her eyes drift to where Kara was leaning over the bar and giving orders to the scruffy guy. Her ass looked great in that skirt. It would probably look even better in a bikini.

The burger was amazing. The conversation was desultory. Kara got busy with another table, and Lena tried not to pout into her beer. She ate as slowly as she could manage, and let herself enjoy the hell out of the burger, because at least while chewing she didn’t have to try to converse. 

Finally Steven finished the last of his strip steak, which he pronounced ‘pretty good, but would have been better without the weird spices.’ It had been cut thin and not overcooked, and Lena was sure the spice rub was awesome and just despised him a little more. Steven set down his fork and knife and took a swig of his IPA. He leaned back in his chair and gave her an intent look. “So,” he tossed his head and smiled. “You want to come back to my place?”

Lena stared at him. He thought they were going to hook up? “You really just asked me that?”

Steven looked blank. “You don’t want to?”

“Did you think I would?”

“But… Sam said…”

Sam She should have known. “He said what? That I was easy? Or did you just assume that?” Lena shoved out her chair and rose to her feet. Maybe she was making a scene, but Kara had been right, Lena had no qualms about being the center of attention.

“She said you’d put out on a first date!” Steven stood up as well. He looked wide-eyed and hurt, like this was unexpected.

“A good first date! Not this… shit show!”

“What? What was wrong? You were like moaning over that beer and that hamburger. We were talking.”

“You’re boring! And clearly you think the world of yourself. You thought I’d go home with you?”

“Um,” Kara had come over and was looking a little worried. She probably wanted them to stop scaring the other customers. “Can I interest you in dessert?”

“God, just go away!” yelped Steven. “Can you not hang all over us? There’s a difference between good service and annoying service!”

“Sorry.” Kara started to back away.

“Shut up, Steven!” Lena grabbed Kara’s shirtsleeve before she got away. “Wait, please.”

“I don’t want to screw up your date,” Kara said. She looked worried, dark eyes half hurt, and Lena felt bad for evading the question of whether she was there for a business meeting or not.

“Stop making eyes at the waitress! We’re not interested in dessert!”

Lena turned and looked at him, and then turned back to Kara. Enough was enough. “You can interest me in dessert,” she said, and she stepped in close and kissed her.

Kara’s mouth went slack with surprise under hers, and Lena took the opportunity to sneak her hand into her apron and snag her pen. Kara started to kiss back, and Lena pulled away, giving a nip to her lower lip. Then she caught Kara’s chin in one hand and uncapped the felt-tip pen with her teeth. She wrote her phone number right across Kara’s cheek in dramatic curly black digits. “Call me, okay? As soon as you get off, if you want.”

Then she kissed her again. This time she was met with warm, sweet, eager lips, and just a touch of tongue.

“Go for it, Kara my girl!” shouted the scruffy man from the bar.

Steven was gaping and whimpering. “What? What?”

Kara’s hands closed around her waist and Lena sank into her. Maybe the idea of a ‘relationship’ wasn’t such a terrible one after all.

Lena finally let her go and turned back to grab her purse. She dropped a fifty on the table, then caught Kara’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Call me. You’d better. I know where you work.”

“Of course I will,” Kara said, looking a bit astonished, but a bright grin spreading over her face. Lena swinging her hips and with a smile adorning her face. It hadn’t been such a terrible date after all.


End file.
